Lithuania plans to further limit access to alcohol, ban advertising

The Lithuanian government plans to completely ban advertisements for alcoholic beverages and shorten the hours alcohol can be sold, it was agreed at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

"Maximum compromise between limiting the access (to alcohol), diminishing the consequences of alcohol intake, and addressing the needs of businesses and the economy has been achieved," Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis was quoted as saying by local media after the meeting.

The final decision on the restrictions will be adopted by Seimas (parliament).

The government is proposing to introduce an age restriction on sales of alcoholic beverages of older than 20 years. It also proposed restricting the time alcohol can be sold from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on working days and Saturdays, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sundays.

Currently, the hours alchol is available for purchase in the country is from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

The cabinet also endorsed a total ban of alcohol advertising.

However, the government suggested postponing the debates on establishing specialized shops for alcohol. According to Skvernelis, the feasibility of such shops will be analyzed further.

Skvernelis said he expected the parliamentary debates about the proposals to be passionate.

In recent years, Lithuania's authorities have been considering measures to restrict access to alcohol due to concerns over alcohol abuse in the Baltic country.

According to the existing law, alcohol is not sold on Sept. 1, the first official day of the new school year.

Starting from January 2016, selling alcohol at petrol stations was banned in Lithuania. Endit